So, one thing in our community (gun community) that bothers me is infighting.
First, I personally prefer to conceal carry, but do not oppose open carriers.
I’m a Marine combat veteran and retired 25 year LEO. I only mention these to avoid the accusations of “keyboard commando.”
That being said, this argument against open carry folks does nothing but undermine our collective goal, which is the right to keep and bear arms without infringement…with out infringement.
Also, telling people that this & that caliber is not good enough, or the one about wheel guns vs semiautos.
I’m all for folks having discussions and conversations about preferences, but when that graduates to finger pointing, name calling and who should and should not do what, that is divisive and we as a community cant afford divisiveness.
We have enough to fight against with the gun grabbers. (This last sentence is not an invitation to attack open carriers or folks who carry larger firearms, so dont.)
The knee jerk reaction by some may be to attack this by shouting down open carriers or folks with smaller caliber firearms or larger frame firearms, thats not what this is about.
My goal is to say, we are a community and need to be a little more tight knit in some areas.
Everything has room for improvement, nothing or no one is perfect.
Communication and conversation is necessary and needed, divisiveness and finger pointing is not.
Bravo! If we can’t be United on the keyboard from our living rooms, we’re doomed on the battlefield! As soon as the Chinese drop from the balloons, it’s all over! That would have been a joke two days ago!
As long as we label people, there will be problems.A good example is someone saying they know your (type).Because I like full size handguns,open carry,and post things that in my opinion real often go off the rails in a direction I never intended some one has to say…I know the type.To that end no you damn sure don’t.
From myself whether I carry openly or concealed depends on the gun I’m going to be carrying that day. I do have holsters for both ways. And because I do have some mobility issues with my arms sometime open carry is better and safer than concealed. So for me I do use both ways depending on my gun I’m going to be carrying that day.
Semper Fi! I agree. In fighting only works to help those who want to take our rights away. A wise man once said that we should not attack our people in public.
I was standing behind a gentleman. who was open carrying at a local Walgreens, while I, standing right behind him in the checkout isle, was concealed carrying. Only difference was everyone was looking at him., not me. I rarely open carry, but it has happened. Like you said, I could care less what you do. I prefer concealed only because it avoids the “stares” you get from some folks. Maine allows both without a permit, but a permit allows reciprocity with other states and is well worth the money. I take my firearm to Florida often when vacationing. Pretty easy process if you follow the rules.
Regardless. There are a lot of opiniated folks out there. Do what you want and leave the others to do as they want. It’s pretty simple.
I do both I use a level three holster and carry a knife edc for the errant gun grabber on those days I owb my situational awareness is high and I’m in weapons retention mode if you practice retaining your weapon the odds some one will try and take them is slim to none I also conceal carry on those days a px4 storm with the Langdon works plus my staccato I wouldn’t do it either if your on point the same way concealed then you should be fine. We do need to use proper gear to otw
Open carry/closed carry, .25 cal/.45 ACP, revolver/semi auto; all these arguments do not matter. Carry what you want in any way you want to. Infighting mis-directs us from our goal of supporting the 2nd Amendment. The anti gun enthusiasts will use this against us claiming that we are too divided to be a united group. The weaker, or those on the fence about our cause will believe them and become even weaker. Discussion is one thing dissension is another. Discuss how you carry and what you carry all you want, but keep it as an exchange of ideas not a change of ideas.
I have stopped being surprised by the disdain I receive from ‘gun guys’ about my choice to open carry. I have seen them get angry, face red and veins popping, and literally yelling at me how stupid I am for open carrying. And this from supposedly respected firearms instructers including former LEOs. Granted, they are in the minority where I live, but it saddens me when someone on ‘my side’ acts like a good liberal and completely shuts down debate. The guys that have reacted that way have never asked me for my reasons, or the research and process I went thru to make my decisions.
Maybe, then, they would get tired of staring at nothing… 